The Evolution of the Aryan. By Rudolph Von Ihering. Translated
from the German by A. Drucker, M.P. (Swan Sonnenschein.)— The author of this work was a Professor of Roman Law, who died leaving it unfinished. He has attempted to apply his knowledge of Roman customs to elucidate the problem of the migration and civilisation of the Western Aryans. According to his view, they originally inhabited the Hindu Kush. from whence they migrated to Southern Russia, where they subjugated a nation, from whom they learned the use of the plough ; and from this second centre the various nations spread west and south-west at intervals, driven by over-population. But all civilisation Von Ihering derives from Babylon, from whence the Hebrews (under Abraham) and the Phcenicians carried it to other nations, who improved upon it. Babylonian, says our author, even preceded Egyptian civilisa- tion. The book is ingenious, but by no means convincing, and much of it is taken up with an attempt to connect the antiquated religious customs of the Romans with the author's idea of what he assumes to have been the necessary arrangements for the Aryans during their migrations. Many of these assumptions seem to us to be wholly gratuitous, if not contrary to known fact, such as the notion that none would have migrated who were sufficiently prosperous in their native country, and that men would always prefer wives of their own race and language. Of the Hindoos Von lhering writes most disparagingly, and indeed absurdly. According to his view, neither parental nor fraternal affection exists among them ; but this is absolutely contradicted by every page of the great epics, of which Von Ihering appears to have read nothing but the short episode of Nala and Dama- yanti. The translation appears to be well done; at least we do not meet with the transparent blunders which any one acquainted
with German can detect in the English of most translations from that language. There is, however, one obvious error on p. 30, of "stake" for "funeral pyre," which looks as if the wrong word had been selected from a dictionary.
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